Romance scams on the rise as Americans look to dating apps for love: 5 tips to protect yourself

After losing her husband, "Beatrice" turned to an online dating site for seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic. She quickly matched with and fell hard for a person she thought was a 66-year-old Spanish lumberjack who looked uncannily like her husband. "I was missing not having him here to talk about, you know, what was going on in the world and everything," Beatrice, who asked that her real name not be used, told Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). "So, somebody suggested to go online through a dating service… and this guy's pictures show up and he's just, you know, no George Clooney, nothing gorgeous, but in fact, he had a resemblance to my husband." The man spent about four months texting and calling the woman before he felt he had gained her trust – then, he began asking her to wire him money.